Frampton all set for Christmas cracker with Martinez

The European Boxing Union have agreed to Spaniard Martinez facing unbeaten Commonwealth champion Frampton in a voluntary defence of his title with December 17 the likely date.

The Belfast man was to have boxed Martinez in September but the Spaniard had to pull out due to a serious illness suffered by his father.

Now negotiations have started for the mouthwatering clash to happen at the King’s Hall and it is expected they will be concluded very shortly.

Frampton, 24, impressed everyone when he took the vacant Commonwealth title in September with a fourth round stoppage of Australian Mark Quon but the fight he has been craving is the battle with hard-hitting Martinez.

When the fight was originally announced for the undercard of Paul McCloskey’s clash with Breidis Prescott last month, the Tigers Bay man sold 1,000 tickets personally and a sold-out King’s Hall would be expected in December.

Immediately after Frampton won the Commonwealth belt, manager Barry McGuigan insisted he wanted the clash with Martinez, knowing that victory would set his protege on course for a world title shot in 2012.

Indeed, McGuigan believes that Frampton could be just four victories away from a shot at the world crown.

Speaking about the possibility of Martinez-Frampton, McGuigan recently stated: “I really believe that if Carl wins that fight then after two European defences he could then fight for the world title.

“Because Carl is so talented we can push him on aggressively. He has the tools to handle Martinez.”